


Returning

by argentconflagration



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra's not really ready to confront her past actions and this fic doesn't make her, F/F, Fluff, POV Catra (She-Ra), Post-Canon, and then they cuddle, they go back to the Fright Zone, very sympathetic towards Catra tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24481999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/argentconflagration/pseuds/argentconflagration
Summary: For Adora, fresh off her triumph over the most powerful person in the entire universe, enough power in her body that the ground under her feet springs to life wherever she walks, Catra having just broken down and admitted her feelings through sobs and begged her to stay— forthatAdora to turn around and say she’ll follow Catra back— Catra can barely comprehend it.Catra and Adora return to the Fright Zone.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102





	Returning

Their carefree celebration lasts about five minutes before Glimmer’s face clouds over with an expression that Catra can tell signals the end of their little party. Is it about her mom? She really doesn’t want Glimmer to bring up her mom, that’s the one piece missing from Glimmer’s happy ending, and it _is_ Catra’s fault, if she’s being honest. A terrifying number of things are Catra’s fault, and she really doesn’t want to think about it. Adora _kissed her,_ can’t Catra just stay in that emotion forever and never go back to thinking about anything else?

Glimmer doesn’t bring up her mom.

“What’s going to happen to the Horde, now that Horde Prime is gone?” is what she says instead.

Catra blinks. The Horde had been in shambles when she’d been taken aboard Prime’s ship, and she assumes the remnants must have been integrated into Prime’s forces. _Something’s_ got to happen to them now. Glimmer is probably worried about the strategic implications, but Catra’s a little bit lost thinking of how the individuals will deal. Having given up everything for the Horde, only to be abandoned just because some world-ending threat came around and everyone suddenly had to focus on that … it doesn’t sit well with her.

Catra must have been staring blankly at Glimmer for longer than she thought, because Glimmer continues, “I guess what I’m asking is, is Hordak just going to fall right back into his position as Horde leader and go to war with Bright Moon again? And what about all the Horde soldiers stationed in the princesses’ kingdoms? You two—” and she points between Catra and Adora— “know them better than me.”

“I run the Horde,” Catra says, almost surprising herself. “I was sort of, uh, overthrowing Hordak, just before Prime showed up. They’ll listen to me.” At least, she’s pretty sure they will. It wasn’t really that long ago, but it seems an eternity away. “I’ll pull everyone back to the Fright Zone, and we can figure out what to do from there.”

Glimmer’s face is doing some strange thing where it tries to display surprise and relief and worry all at once. “Right,” she says, composing herself. “You can go back to the Fright Zone and make sure no one tries to send the Horde into battle against the Princess Alliance again. And it’ll all be fine!” She wears an unsteady grin that seems designed to convince herself more than anyone else.

Catra is only now realizing what she’s gotten herself into. “Right. Back to the Fright Zone.” She keeps her face neutral despite how much it stings. Somehow she’d thought that when this was all over, she’d get to stay with Adora, maybe in Bright Moon. With everything Adora had said about wanting her to stay, with the stuff Bow had said about the four of them being ‘best friends’. Of course she was never _really_ one of them, but for a while it had felt like she was _almost_ one of them.

There’s a little bit of back-and-forth with Glimmer on how they’ll get everyone to settle into peaceful coexistence, but really, Catra’s too tired for this. She should probably just head back to the Fright Zone now, curl up on the bed she still uses, above Adora’s trashed one, and sleep until the whiplash stings less.

Adora pulls her aside once Glimmer decides to be finished with the conversation for now. Of course Adora had noticed, why had Catra expected she wouldn’t?

“Do you not want to go back to the Fright Zone?” Adora asks. It’s not quite a whisper, but it’s not loud enough for the others to overhear them, which Catra is grateful for. It’d be better if they were genuinely alone— Catra doesn’t exactly want to start off her new reign as lord of the Fright Zone by publicly melting down over Adora leaving her yet again— but it’s better than nothing.

“Of course I don’t want to go back to the Fright Zone,” Catra spits, more harshly than she meant to. “Everyone else is going to be celebrating and having fun and I’m going to go back to that awful hell-pit alone because no one else wants to be there, especially not with me. But it’s fine, I don’t _get_ to be happy, I knew that from the beginning. Happy endings are for you guys, not me.”

Adora stares. For about two seconds, before wrapping both arms around Catra. Catra makes a token struggle that sort of only has the effect of generating more contact between them. So maybe she likes being in the arms of the woman she loves, so what.

“You don’t have to go back at all—”

“I do!”

“—but if you go back, I’m going with you.”

Oh.

And now she really is going to break down, it’s probably stupid to feel so _much_ about this, but. But she spent so much time thinking that if she _won,_ if she _made_ Adora fall in line behind her, she’d finally stop feeling so pathetic. So for Adora, fresh off her triumph over the most powerful person in the entire universe, enough power in her body that the ground under her feet springs to life wherever she walks, Catra having just broken down and admitted her feelings through sobs and begged her to stay— for _that_ Adora to turn around and say she’ll follow Catra back— Catra can barely comprehend it.

“You’ll— you’ll come with me?” she repeats, stupidly.

Adora nods shyly. _Shyly!_ “I mean, of course, unless that’s not what you want …”

“You’re such an idiot.” Catra tucks her head against Adora’s chest, where no one else can see her crying. “You’re _such_ an idiot.”

* * *

The Fright Zone is a mess. Catra hadn’t exactly left it in tip-tip condition, and Horde Prime doesn’t seem to have taken much care with it either. Just finding a working radio to send out her orders takes far longer than it should. And after that is a lot of saying “Return to the Fright Zone and await further orders” until Catra feels like she’ll be saying the phrase in her sleep.

_“I_ am your commander,” she snarls in frustration, as a particularly stubborn officer tries to argue that they should continue to hold the Sea Gate of Salineas. “Anyone who refuses to obey my orders is a deserter and traitor.”

Adora looks up from where she’s inventorying what resources the Horde has left. She gives Catra a worried look but doesn’t say anything. Catra tells herself— well, what she would like to believe is— that Adora is concerned because Catra’s encountering difficulty. And she pushes aside the thought that Adora’s frightened of what she hears in Catra’s voice.

It’s only afternoon when Catra calls it a day, but she’s gotten in touch with everyone she can reach, and whether they actually do fall back obediently and peaceably is a problem for tomorrow’s Catra. There’s almost certainly other pockets of Horde forces out there, who’ve deserted or gone renegade, but maybe she could get through to them once they see—

No! That’s tomorrow’s Catra’s problem!

Right now, Adora is holding out a plate of ration bars— the grey kind— and smiling at her with sympathy. “Hungry?”

And wow, she really is hungry. Especially given a chance to eat something other than the too-sweet food the Rebellion offered her. Which was its own … experience … but right now she really just wants to eat a bunch of rations and take a nap, and she tells Adora as much.

“That sounds _amazing,”_ Adora says, exhaling dramatically. “Are our old quarters still there?”

A guilty wince flashes across Catra’s face, which she’s sure Adora sees. “Yeah, and I’m sorry about … ugh, you’ll see.”

When she sees it, Adora kneels down in her bed, and runs her fingers over the scratches that run across her picture.

“Listen, it’s not—”

“You were mad at me. I knew that. I mean, if you were mad enough to destroy the world, this shouldn’t—”

“I don’t _actually_ want you scratched out of my life. And I never did.”

Adora turns back toward her. Their faces are close, nearly touching, and then Adora kisses her, right there on top of her tattered bedsheet. Catra loses her balance, but she only falls into Adora, and then they’re lying side by side, and Adora kisses her again, and somehow this time it really does feel like they can erase all the pain in their past just by kissing, just by holding each other close. Adora runs her hand through Catra’s hair, and Catra purrs from deep in her throat. Maybe not erase, exactly, but they can build something soft and beautiful, no matter how much of a mess they’re building on.

Adora’s blushing when she pulls back. “You didn’t use to purr this much.”

“It’s different now that you love me,” Catra murmurs, as she contentedly settles her head onto Adora’s chest, purring even louder.

“I always loved you.”

“Hm, that must be embarrassing for you.” She could fall asleep like this, lying on Adora’s warmth.

“Oh, you are _insufferable.”_

“But you’re the one who _loves me.”_

And Adora’s hum of agreement is everything Catra ever needed.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I threw together after watching the finale because I couldn't _not_ write anything! I might write more She-Ra fic in the future, might go back to Good Omens, it remains to be seen.


End file.
